Army women's basketball team turns to trio to replace Simmers

Sunday

Mar 23, 2014 at 2:00 AM

There were times when Anna Simmers drove Army coach Dave Magarity crazy with her unbridled and unconventional play but her value as a defender and her breakdown offensive skills were going to be hard to replace when she graduated last year.

Ken McMillan

There were times when Anna Simmers drove Army coach Dave Magarity crazy with her unbridled and unconventional play but her value as a defender and her breakdown offensive skills were going to be hard to replace when she graduated last year.

Magarity knew no one player from his younger ranks was likely to emerge as her replacement this season so he relied on three — Brianna Johnson, Jean Parker and Krishawn Tillett — to fill the void.

"Every single girl on this team has really bought into their role that they were given,'' said senior captain Jen Hazlett.

Johnson has become the defensive stopper that Simmers was, Parker has lit the scoreboard from the perimeter and Tillett has overcome injuries to finally start contributing valuable minutes.

"We needed someone to step up on defense and stop the other team's best player,'' said Johnson, who averages five points, four rebounds and 27 minutes. "I took it as an opportunity that, hey, maybe I can get some more playing time if I step up my defense, take some charges here and there, get into the other team's best player and hopefully disrupt their offense. That's how I found my way into the starting spot and I have been lucky enough to keep it.''

The joke within the team is how Parker rarely steps inside the 3-point arc — she begs to differ, just a bit, but the numbers support their claim: Parker has taken 81 of her 119 shot attempts beyond the arc, hitting 33 for a nearly 41 percent success rate.

"I know they always told me to shoot when I get in there,'' Parker said. "I am more comfortable around the three (line) "» that is kind of my home.''

Parker is also active on the defensive side, too.

"I try to be in there as an energy player,'' she said. "I race after every loose ball and make sure there is no drop-off from the bench.''

Tillett is seeing more time of late, and contributed seven points in the Patriot League championship game.

"I think us three, we never really aimed at trying to fill Anna's spot,'' Tillett said. "We all have our individual ways of playing, and I think Anne being gone kind of brought it out of us even more. Jean is the shooter and is just amazing at it. Bri, defensively she is great and she holds her own on offense. Me, I can shoot, do the little stuff and get people open. I think us three, doing what we do, filled that one spot in itself.''